SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A Maine man has been charged with trying to burn a Massachusetts church with a predominantly Black congregation.
Dushko Vulchev of Houlton, was arrested Friday by Pittsfield police, authorities said Saturday. He is due to be arraigned Monday on several counts of malicious damage and three counts of attempted arson at the Martin Luther King Presbyterian Church in Springfield on Dec. 13 and Dec. 15. Authorities also are investigating a fire that heavily damaged the church Dec. 28.
It was unknown Saturday whether Vulchev had an attorney.
In 2008, a few hours after Barack Obama was elected president, a Black church in Springfield was destroyed in an intentionally set fire that authorities said was racially motivated. Three white men were arrested and convicted.